Aboriginal Tae kwon do team blends two cultures

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The steady beat of a powwow drum filters through the gymnasium of the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto. It mingles with the sounds of kicks and punches slicing air and hitting pads.

Students gather here to learn about tradition, whether it's powwow drumming or the Korean martial art. Tae kwon do has become a familiar sight at the centre.

Many of the students in the gym perfecting their right jabs and roundhouse kicks will be competing for Team Ontario at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in Winnipeg. In Manitoba's capital, the students will be joined by other teammates from northern Ontario, to make up a 32 member team. It's the largest Ontario Tae kwon do contingent ever to compete at the Indigenous games.

Master George Lepine, who can usually be found at the front of a class giving crisp commands in Korean, is the coach for Ontario's all Aboriginal Tae kwon do team.

"Our standing at the games should be quite good, considering our experience and team size," Lepine said. "The difficulty we have is that a few of our team-mates are in the north and will have to train at their host schools up until the days of the competitions. I will be sending them training tips that they can use during their training and I'll be keeping in touch with their instructors as well."

Over the next four months, the tall, soft spoken, Metis instructor plans to draw from Native traditions to prepare the athletes.

One way in which he is doing that is by devoting the next four months leading up to NAIG to training in each of the four directions.

"I am utilizing much of our traditional teachings and incorporating it into instruction," said Lepine. "Teachings from the four directions and the understanding of speed and power from practices of our warriors. I am also teaching students how to embrace balance."

Not surprisingly, Lepine's involvement is one of the main reasons Ontario has such a strong team this year. As vice-president of the Native Canadian Centre executive and a member of the board of directors for the NAIG council and Ontario's Aboriginal Sport Circle, he has put a lot of time and energy into developing sport for Aboriginal youth and adults.

For him, the work is its own reward.

"A person can develop physically as well as mentally and morally from the practice of Tae kwon do," he said. "Mental perseverance, self-discipline, self-confidence and self-control are the students' benefits. When I see a student develop their personal character into this mold, the reward is very self-gratifying."

In addition to his active involvement in the Aboriginal community, Lepine has found time to attain high standards of excellence in martial arts. He holds a brown belt in Japanese Judo, a 5th degree master black belt in Tae kwon do, and a 5th degree master black belt in Hap Ki-do. He also represented Canada at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea in 1988, when Tae kwon do was first introduced as an Olympic sport.